In this day and age, we live in a very crowded marketplace with dozens of films being released each year that are either based on comics, are sequels or are reboots. A lot of people have prematurely announced the death of original storytelling until a film like The Lost City comes along. This is the kind of film that is made purely for entertainment value alone which results in a film that perfectly balances the adventure section with the comedy portions of the film, for a rollicking good ride from start to finish.
There’s so many highlights with The Lost City but the key one is the casting. Sandra Bullock plays novelist Loretta Sage who is publishing her latest book, The Lost City of D, with the book’s cover model Alan, played by Channing Tatum. During the book tour Loretta is kidnapped by wealthy-man Fairfax, perfectly played by Daniel Radcliffe playing against type, which kick-starts an adventure on a mysterious island to find a crown made of expensive jewels. Tatum’s Alan attempts to find and rescue Loretta with help from a mercenary played by Brad Pitt. Everyone is beautifully cast in a very light-hearted film. Everyone knows to balance the silliness with the seriousness and it creates such a fun film.
Another highlight is the lack of CGI or green screen. Most of what you see on the big screen was filmed on closed sets or on location and it shows. There is some obvious CGI but it is kept minimal with the focus more on character than exposition. The greens and browns of the jungle is also contrasted with Bullock’s shiny and sparkly pink outfit that she wears throughout the film. The result makes each scene pop with colour along with some inventive action scenes splitting up the crusading antics in between scenes.
The Lost City makes you feel like you’re watching an old-school adventure film at times with elements feeling similar to films such as The African Queen, Romancing the Stone or Indiana Jones. With this and recent films such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Uncharted and Jungle Cruise all reviving the adventure genre in the last year there is an abundance of generic tropes such as finding and solving puzzles, escaping enemies by jumping into rivers and even a cataclysmic event which is foreshadowed throughout the film that could result in their mission being a failure. All of those tropes are evident in this film as well as all the other films mentioned before, proving this is a genre with little new to offer.
Yes, the adventure genre is predictable, but this is also a comedy film and the banter, jokes and laughs between Bullock’s Loretta and Tatum’s Alan are some of the best scenes in the film. Alan is constantly stereotyped by his good looks while Loretta is grieving and doesn’t care about the characters in her book anymore. The two characters are forced together and in turn they help remind each other the important aspects of living. It sounds corny but luckily Bullock and Tatum have enough charisma to make their characters feel flawed and real. It results in a film where you will be howling with laughter at any given moment.
★★★★☆
4/5
The Lost City may feel more of the same, especially in terms of the exploration and the hero versus villain plot, as it holds its cinematic influences and straight out copies them throughout the film. However, the story and the characters hide these slight flaws and remind you why you go to the cinema in the first place. You go to escape from the real world, to smile and laugh, and to engage with the characters that the actors portray on the screen, which is what The Lost City ends up making you do, from start to finish.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
Comments